The Legendary Twilight Poet
by Ilasir
Summary: An LMS fanfic following the journey of an American player of the VRMMORPG Royal Road, Colin Minquett. Rather than playing the game like all the others and chasing the title of Emperor, he chooses to make his own goals, and discover just how far the reality of Royal Road can be stretched beyond it's creator's intentions.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** This will be a regularly updated fic, and as I'm writing it one chapter at a time, there may be edits to earlier chapters to resolve continuity issues. These won't be major, but I'll leave a note when I post a new chapter if it required revisions of earlier chapters.

Although I had some fancy text formatting for the system message pop-ups from the game, it doesn't transfer well to the site, so hopefully the current format isn't too distracting.

 **Legendary Twilight Poet – Prologue**

It was a dull middle class life indeed. Happy family; enough money if not as much as it could have been; an enjoyable if rather pedestrian college experience. And then computer programming, writing un-publishable trash novels and poetry, and gaming as hobbies.

In Colin's mind, there was no game genre that could beat a truly elegant tactical-RPG simulator. No challenger to Dark Medallion. Console RPGs lacked depth and strategy. Even the best MMOs were so limited, player cooperation was too hard with IRC or voice-chat for organizing.

But now, in South Korea, there was a new kind of game: a virtual reality MMORPG—Royal Road. The pinnacle of RPG gaming, according to the critics and even the players. The story-line was pretty cliche. The world-building standard D&D style high fantasy. But besides the VR interface, the main treasure was the realistic AI for the world and the non-player characters. Pseudo-intelligence, not real intelligence. But leaps and bounds above the regular dialogue trees and path-finding algorithms that came before it. Better than the best academic or military AI systems. The VR was flashy, but the AI was just a little short of miraculous.

And of course, the secret treasure: easter eggs. Secret quests, items, and classes buried deep within the world-building. Already a famous player was speculated to have uncovered a secret class. Weed the War God from a pre-VR MMO famous in South Korea and even overseas: "Continent of Magic".

"Still too standard-RPG for me," Colin thought. But even starting this late, having carefully reviewed the public information and watching the archived footage of the famous players, Colin believed this new game was worth experiencing.

"If only I could find an easter-egg class for myself, it will be more than enough." he told himself. "I don't care about fame or being Emperor. I want to influence things from behind the scenes. Conquering the Central Continent is a hassle. The big guilds are all assholes, anyway. It's better to help the newbies and undermine the oppressive rule of the guilds." Rather than a troll or a griefer, it's more like being a Puck.

Colin begged himself a capsule from his parents for his 19th birthday, and his journey began.

"It's not just because of Weed. Forever solo!"


	2. Chapter 1 - Before You Can Run

**Legendary Twilight Poet – Chapter 1: Before You Can Run**

|| Connect to Royal Road?

|| Yes/ No?

"Yes."

A voice from nowhere:

"The scan of your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?"

It was the account registration process. The voice was soft and feminine.

"Yes," Colin said.

– What is the name of your character? –

"Swinburne."

– Select your gender from male, female, or neutral –

"Neutral."

– Royal Road has 49 races. You may select your race from the primary 29. –

"Human."

– You may alter your appearance as you please. –

He almost said "As I am." But then he remembered the Hall of Fame videos. Although he would never be in the Hall of Fame, it was still better to pass unnoticed if he could. Got to have the most generic face, he though. Brown hair, brown eyes. Although something flashy would be fun, fading into the background worked better with his planned play-style.

– Your account has been activated. Your stats and class will be determined as you play Royal Road. You... –

"Pass."

– Please select the city and kingdom in which you wish to begin your journey. –

"The Citadel of Serabourg in Rosenheim Kingdom."

Welcome to Royal Road! –

"Pass!"

Colin thought it was definitely better to skip the tutorial. Tutorials are all the same anyway. After all, he had watched so many videos and read descriptions. It should be just like walking around in the real world. He thought about starting in Morata, which was surrounded by the newly discovered lands of the North, but in the end it was better to start in a place that he knew more about, since it was so common in videos. And Morata was still so under-developed compared to the Central Continent.

There was a bright light and then Colin found himself reeling from the clamor of voices and the riot of colorful cloths and tall buildings. Was this truly a game? Even the videos had not prepared him for the reality of being in a virtual world. Soft chuckles and whispers of "Newbie..." dogged his first swaying steps, but soon he found his stride.

Colin worked his way quickly through the crowd to an empty alleyway, and followed it through a few twists and turns before taking the opportunity to test out his muscular control. Just a few years ago he'd been active in running and martial arts, but lately he'd been too busy fiddling with endless lines of code and playing handheld video games. This new VRMMO would surely be more similar to the former physically, even if mentally it was more like a fantasy RPG.

He'd been eating okay, and taking the multi-vitamins his mother insisted on every day, so after a few minutes of stretches, exercises, and even some basic martial arts moves, Colin felt confident he was still in fairly good shape. He'd read that real physical and mental ability was very important in Royal Road, and the exploits of several famous players such as Weed and others seemed to support that idea. All that seemingly useless sweating and jokes from his old classmates about being a weeaboo nerd might finally be worth it!

Although he wasn't friends with a lot of gamers IRL, Colin did know a lot of popular people online, and he'd heard a rumour that you could raise your stats directly in the Training Hall, without having to gain any experience or levels. Playing any decent variety of RPGs ought to teach that there were more paths to strength than just direct level-grinding. Like raising skills or getting better equipment. Raising stats directly was definitely something to take advantage of, even if it involved its own kind of grinding.

Colin wanted to get a feel for this game world anyway, so it was better not to risk messing up quests or his relationship with NPCs right at the beginning. Since he was stuck in the city for four weeks anyway, why not use that time to increase his capabilities?

When he arrived at the Training Hall, the instructor came over and offered him a wooden sword. For two whole weeks, ignoring the sneers and the jokes about being a Weed-wanna-be, he whaled on one of the thousand wooden scare-crows to the exclusion of all else.

"Compared to running eight miles through a white-out blizzard in shorts and a t-shirt, or sprinting up three dozen hills in the blazing sun, this is nothing!" he told himself through his tears. His hands were covered in blisters and his muscles burned. His arms might fall off any second. But if he wanted to troll the prestigious guilds, he needed every advantage he could squeeze out of his pathetic body and spirit.

"Nothing feels better than everyone else wondering what the fuck you're doing while working towards your goals!" he mumbled through streams of sweat.

By the third week his stats had crept up by almost 30 Vitality, Agility, and Strength. He had even gained the new stat: Fighting Spirit! Although Colin preferred playing a support or crafting class, he knew he would have to be able to handle himself in a fight since he didn't plan on joining any guilds.

After another three days of smacking the scare-crow, another window popped up:

|| **New Stat:** Sustenance

|| You are likely to use less Stamina for an action. You are prohibited from distributing stat || bonus points to this stat.

A very useful stat no matter what profession I choose, though Colin.

Because the practice weapon was a sword, he he also gained the skill "Sword Mastery", which increase Attack Power by 10% for each Skill Level and increased Attack Speed by 3% each Skill Level. He was currently at Skill Level 2.

Now if only he had a way to buy more food. Although he could get water from one of the many fountains, food cost money—even the cheap barley bead that he started with. Colin was forced to leave the Training Hall in search of a quest or some work.

As he walked through the city,Colin saw a finely-painted sign with an image of a book on it. He often read books, and had once worked in a neighborhood book store for pocket money. Maybe this store was looking for a bit of help?

A soft chime shivered as he walked through the door, and a middle-aged man with graying hair looked up from his work at the front counter.

"Welcome, young man. Are you here to buy some books? Perhaps a riveting adventure or a beginner's guide to magic would suit you?"

"No thank you, sir. Actually, I've worked in a bookshop before and I was wondering if you needed any help around the place? My name is Swinburne."

"Now that you mention it," said the old man, "I have been looking for an assistant. But none of these ignorant foreigners have been of much use, when they weren't sneering at an old man's request. Do you know much about maintaining a catalogue system, Swinburne?"

"I do, actually. That's how you keep track of your stock and orders,I take it? Quite a modern system."

"Why, thank you, young man. None of the other shops around here appreciate the subtleties of proper book-keeping; they just buy low ad sell high to the careless adventurers. But I used to be an apprentice to the Royal Archivist, so I know everything there is to know about stocking and appraising books.

"It might not look like it, since I sell mostly to the residents of Serabourg, who want only basic material, but I have quite the collection of rare books. Even the Mages' Guild sometimes requests rare tomes from me, since the Royal Archivist is loath to share his wealth with commoners.

"In fact, I've just recently been asked to send along a few volumes to the Undersecretary of the Guild. It'd be very convenient for me if you could take them to his office so I don't have to close up shop during peak business hours. If you can safely complete this task and return with the proper receipt, I'd be happy to take you on as my assistant clerk! What do you say?"

 _Ding!_

|| **Books for the Guild Undersecretary**

|| Jansel the Bookseller has offered to make you his assistant if you can safely deliver some

|| rare tomes to the Undersecretary of the Mages' Guild. If you accept this quest and

|| return with the signed receipt, you'll gain the Job of Assistant Bookstore Clerk.

|| **Difficulty Level:** E

|| **Quest Requirements:**

|| Acquaintance with Jansel and no current Job

||Acknowledged experience working with books.

|| **Quest Rewards:**

|| A Job as an Assistant Bookstore Clerk

|| Pays ten silver a day for four hours of work

|| Bonuses for properly completed special tasks

"I would be honored to learn from such an expert in the field. Please let me make this delivery."

|| You have accepted the request.

 _Ding!_

|| _The Key of Gariel_ has been added to your inventory.

|| _Ronner's Third Engorgement_ has been added to your inventory.

|| _Farden's Circles of Flame_ has been added to your inventory.

|| _Marien's "Sonnets"_ has been added to your inventory.

|| _Miniul's "Commentaries"_ has been added to your inventory.

"I'll be back very soon, Master Jansel. Until then!" Colin hurried out the door. Although he hadn't learned everything about the city yet, it wasn't hard to find the Mages' Guild, which towered above the rest of the skyline, and even the city walls. As long he kept the towers in sight, he was sure to make it there in no time at all.

(To be continued...)


	3. Chapter 2 - Learn to Walk

**Legendary Twilight Poet – Chapter 1: Learn to Walk**

It only took a couple of minutes to get back to the the main square. Colin admired the fancy equipment of the many players around the fountain. Some were hawking goods like armor and materials,while others were looking for party members to challenge nearby dungeons. Some day I'll be wearing gear like that, he thought to himself, imaging expensive wizard's robes or perhaps a fine sword. Even if I'm not chasing the Hall of Fame, it's nice to have good stuff.

But soon he reached the street on the other side, a route he'd not taken since he first started the game. After all, it led directly away from the Training Hall to the districts where the various player and NPC guilds had their offices.

Although the tower had looked close because of its size, Royal Road had a grander scale than any RPG he'd played before, and half an hour passed without feeling like he'd made any progress. Serabourg was even bigger than his home town in the US. As he came up to the cross-street, a new obstacle presented itself. There was massive military parade coming down the street from the south gate. He'd heard there had been a royal expedition to clean out a nearby lair, but he hadn't imagined it could have been this big. And to be returning just when he needed to take this street to the guild! He was very irritated.

Colin was forced to duck down a side-street, and in a few minutes he was hopelessly lost in a maze of cracked cobbles and dirty alleyways. Although the main roads which lead out of the city on the royal highways were straight and well-maintained, the streets of this old residential district were in definite need of repair. Just as Colin was about to fall down in frustration, a group of young kids came up to him.

"Are you lost, mister?" asked one small boy. "We live around here, so if you need directions, it's just one copper!"

To be extorted by elementary school kids was just ridiculous! Besides... "I don't have any money," he told the boy. "That's why I'm running errands in a part of town I've never been before."

"Errands?"

"I'm delivering some books to the Mages' Guild, but that parade is blocking my way, and I can't figure out another way to get there.

"Well," the boy said, "just this once I'll help you out. If you take the next two lefts and keep walking, you'll hit the cross-street the Guild is on after about fifteen minutes." He smiled. "We're off to play. See you later!" The kids rushed by, jostling him and accidentally knocking the precious volumes out of his hands. One of them turned around and shouted "Sorry, mister!" before following the others left down an alley.

Colin got down on his hands and knees and started picking up the books. But he noticed immediately there was one less than there should have been. He looked around desperately, but it was nowhere to be found. "One of those brats must have stolen it!" Colin tied the books into a bundle and stuffed them back in his bag before running down the alley after the kids. He couldn't see them anymore, as the alley was full of twists and turns, but he could hear their muffled giggles.

Taking a sharp turn, he tripped and tumbled into the wall of one of the houses along the alley. He got up quickly and kept moving, but soon the alley hit a dead-end. Colin wanted to scream. Although the kids had only taken one of the books of poetry, the binding had still looked very expensive. Forget his payment for delivery, he'd owe Jansel a great deal of money and not even get the job, to boot!

Colin walked back to the nearest path back onto a real street. He was still in a poor neighborhood, ad there didn't seem to be many people around. However, there was an old woman sitting on the porch of a house a few houses down the street. When he caught her eye, she smiled.

"Are you looking for something, sonny?"

"Yes, ma'am. Some kids stole a book from me and ran off with it."

"A book?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Colin. "I was delivering some books for Jansel the Bookseller in the store off the main square." I hope I'm not wasting my time, he thought. Even if this old lady saw something, would she tell me?

"Old Jansel, you say? He used to live around here, before his wife died. A very friendly fellow. He's got you running deliveries for him, does he?"

"Yup. I'm hoping to be his assistant at the store."

"Ah, he could use a assistant. He's much to old to be running all over town himself these days."

"Well, he'll never take me on if he finds out I lost such a precious book. But how can I find those kids when they live around here and I've only been in the city a few weeks?" I'm doomed, he thought.

"You know, I've been wanting to try some cake from the new shop off the square. If you promise to bring me some, I can tell you where those kids hag out. And I won't even tell Jansel you got robbed by some poor urchins. Hehehe. It'll be out little secret."

Score! I'm saved, though Colin. That shop is pretty expensive, though. I heard some girls talking about it outside the Training Hall. It's gonna cost me three days pay... Well, it's the only way. I won't even have the chance to earn that money if I don't get Jansel's book back.

"Ma'am, if you can help me get my book back, I'd be happy to treat you to some nice cake."

The old lady told him where to find the kids, and he sprinted the entire way. As he got closer to the door of the old shack, he could here arguing inside.

"You grabbed the wrong book, stupid! Poetry is gross! It looked like he had some pretty fancy magic tomes. Harl might even have given us each a silver for them." It sounded like the young boy from before.

"It's not my fault!" complained a girl's voice. "They all looked expensive. I grabbed the one farthest away from him."

"Even if it is fancy, Harl might not even want it if it isn't magic."

Colin stayed hidden behind the door. Were they stealing under someone's orders?

"We haven't given him anything good for a week, Velli. If we don't find something soon, we're in big trouble."

"He'll sell us to some slavers!" another girl's voice said.

"Even if he doesn't," said another boy, "what'll we eat if we can't pay him for food?"

Colin stepped into the room. "You'll have plenty of food in jail," he said. "I'm supposed to deliver that book to the Mages' Guild. They won't like it that you've been stealing from them!" A desperate bluff...

"Shit," said the lead boy.

"How did he catch us, Martes?" the girl who was called Velli, asked. "I know we lost him in the alley!"

"I used scrying magic," Colin told them. Was there such a thing?! Lots of similar games had it. "I'm an apprentice mage."

"You're lying!" A young girl stood up. "My momma was a Seer. I know some real magic. I bet you're just some messenger boy. If you knew magic, you wouldn't have dropped the book in the first place."

"What a loser," one of the other boys said.

"Mage or not, do you think the guards are gonna go easy on some brats who stole from the Mages' Guild? And who is Harl? I bet the guards would wanna know about him, too!"

Several of the childrens' faces turned white. "We don't know who you're talking about!" squeaked Martes. "We're sorry we stole your book. Here." He dropped it on the floor in front of Colin. "It's just dumb poetry anyway. You can have it back, so leave us alone."

Colin picked up the book. It didn't seem damaged. They are just little kids. And they do look kinda thin. Maybe I can let them go, just this once.

"If you ever mess with me again, I'll bring the guards. And I'll tell them all about Harl, too. If you have any pals, you better spread the word."

"It's a deal," Martes said. "I'll tell you how to get to the Mages' Guild from here, so hurry up and leave!"

 _Ding!_

|| Your relationship with Martes's Gang improved.

Not that it does me much good, though Colin. He walked out of the shack and followed Martes's directions.

Thirty minutes later he was walking through the door of the Guild.

A strict-looking woman at the counter to his right looked p as he entered. "Can I help you with something?" He felt her eyes judging his shoddy clothes, which were still messed up from his pursuit of the kid thieves.

"I have a deliver for the Undersecretary."

"Oh? And what might that be?" The woman glared at him.

"It's some books from Jansel. They're expected?"

"I'll have to check on that. If you don't mind waiting a bit?" The woman rang a bell, and a young boy in some kind of uniform came running over. She whispered in his ear he and took off up the stairs in the center of the lobby. She didn't even look at him again until the boy returned. He was sent running again as soon as he delivered his message.

"It appears the Undersecretary is willing to see you now. He's on the sixth floor, third door to the left. Please go straight there." And then he was out of her mind completely. Surely those reports she was reading couldn't be that exciting.

Colin climbed the six flights of stairs and was only slightly winded by the time he made it up. There were very few people on this floor, unlike in the crowded lobby. It must be where the bigwigs had their offices. He turned left and knocked on the third door he came to.

"Yes?" said a voice from within.

"I'm here to deliver some books to the Undersecretary. From Jansel?"

"You may enter."

Colin pushed the door ope slowly and stepped in. The office was very neat and tidy. A young man sat at a desk writing something. He pointed to a door behind him to the left. "Go on in. And don't forget your manners." His voice was dry and bored. Colin once again felt like a nuisance.

He walked through the door to discover a huge multi-level room. Walls filled with books rose up thirty feet to the ceiling. A man sat at a plain desk in the middle of the room. He looked up when he heard Colin's footsteps.

"Ah, Hansel has found himself a new messenger boy, I see. Please give me the books." He seemed quite excited, though he remained seated. Colin went over and unwrapped the books. He set them on the corner of the desk. "Thank you, young man. My name is Heine. Alric Heine. And you are?"

"Swinburne, sir."

"I see. Pleased to meet you. Jansel told me I'd have to wait a week before he could deliver the books. This is quite a nice surprise. You might have noticed I'm a bit of a bookworm. Although the magic tomes are for Guild business, I quite enjoy poetry as a hobby. I've written many verses myself, though I dare say they can't compare to Marien. Do you enjoy poetry, young man?"

"I do, sir. I've read a fair amount. I'm afraid I'm not so skilled at writing it."

"Haha. No worries. Even if you've got the talent, it still takes a great deal practice and study. Few of the modern poets live up to the greats of the past. In fact, the only poet worth mentioning died twenty years ago. They called him the Twilight Poet, Valieng, because his themes tread the line between day and night. He's not so well known these days, but as a fellow mage, I can't help but admire his treatment of magic as a poetic motif."

"I can understand that. It seems like a tough topic."

"Oh, the best mages have a bit of the poet in them, I believe. The attention to the structure of language and philosophy is equally necessary in both professions."

"I hadn't thought of it that way, sir. I don't know a lot about magic."

"You have some other profession? You don't strike me as a warrior. I hope that doesn't offend you."

"No. I'm not particularly good at fighting, though I'd like to be some day. Many of the people I admire are adventurers."

The Undersecretary laughed. "Well, that's not uncommon at your age. You seem to have the temperament for the arts, in my opinion. Have you never considered being a poet. I'm a bit biased I suppose. If I had not shown as much talent for magic, I might have tried to make a living from poetry. It's a hard life in these times. Many poets have a separate profession. The arts in general are not well-regarded currently. Adventuring has captivated all the passionate souls."

"I won't say I hate the idea of writing poetry. But as you say, it's hard to make ends meet as an artist. Especially when you don't produce things of concrete and unique value, such as sculptures or paintings." It's probably even harder to make a living from writing here than it is in the real world, though Colin. That's why I took up programming, since I might get a day job with it. How am I supposed to challenge dungeons or quests with a few pretty words and phrases?!

"I think Jansel has a few copies of Valieng's work. You should ask to read them sometime. You definitely won't regret it. And now I need to get back to work. I'm sorry to have kept you."

"No, it was fun. I don't have many people to discuss poetry or writing with. I hope these books help you improve." Did I just imply his poetry needed work? Crap...

"Thank you very much, Swinburne. I enjoyed our conversation as well. Comvey my appreciation to Jansel, and good luck with your new job. Perhaps you'll be delivering me some more books in the future and we can talk again."

The man put the books in a drawer and looked back down at the papers on his deck. I've been dismissed, Colin thought. It was a nice chat, but this task has taken way longer than I thought. I could have gained 10 more stats by now if I'd kept training.

 _Ding!_

|| Your relationship with Undersecretary Heine has improved.

|| If you become closer, you might learn some valuable information or

|| receive some useful items or assistance.

|| Five books have been removed from your inventory.

 _Ding!_

|| You have learned some new information about poetry and a famous poet.

As Colin walked back into the front room, the young man at the desk held up a piece of paper without taking his eyes off his work.

 _Ding!_

|| A receipt of delivery has been added to your inventory.

|| You have completed the task **Books for the Undersecretary.**

|| R **eward:** Bring the receipt to Jansel for your reward.

Colin made much quicker time getting back to the bookstore than going to the guild. The parade had ended and he was able to avoid any shady neighborhoods by sticking to the main streets. The sun had already begun to set as he opened the door. Jansel was tidying up in preparation for closing. Just in time! thought Colin.

"Ah," Jansel said. "You've finally returned. Did the delivery go okay?"

"Yes, sir. The Undersecretary was very happy with the books and that they came so early. Here's the receipt."

 _Dig!_

|| A receipt of delivery has been removed from your inventory.

|| You have shown proof of finishing your task to Jansel the Bookseller.

|| **Reward:** You have received 1 Gold for completing this task.

|| Jansel has hired you to be his assistant.

"I'm so glad. Thank you for taking care of this for me," said Jansel. "I think you will make a good assistant. You can start tomorrow. You should arrive at 10 in the morning and you can leave at 2 in the afternoon. That way I'll be able to keep up with the busiest hours. If I need you to run any errands, I'll give you a bonus beyond the ten silver a day."

"I really appreciate it. I'm glad I could find such a good job."

"Good."

"That reminds me. The Undersecretary and I had a lovely discussion about poetry. He said I should ask you if I could borrow some books of the works of Varieng."

"Ah, he's such an eccentric. Although Varieng had a lot of skill, he chose such odd subjects. That's why he's not very popular or well-known. I have a few of his more common collections. I don't mind if you borrow them. Actually, I have an empty room upstairs. Would you like to stay there instead of commuting? It'll cost 1 silver a day, though. It comes with dinner but you'll have to get your own breakfast and lunch."

"I would love to. Thanks you very much."

"You can borrow whatever books you like out of my regular stock. But if you want something rare or expensive, please ask me first."

"Thank you very much, sir."

"Since we'll be living and working together, you can just cal me Jansel."

"Okay. Thanks you, Jansel."

"You should go get some dinner before the crowds arrive. Late dinners are popular in the city, so ina couple hours all the restaurants and taverns will be packed. Here's a key to the back stairs so you can get into your room."

"Thanks. I'll definitely eat now." Colin walked outside and headed for the square. There should be some good, cheap food at the player stalls that I can reward myself with for a job well done. And I can buy some bread and such for when I don't need anything fancy. I'll have to put off training for another day or so, since I owe that old lady cake. I'm so lucky he gave me a whole gold for that little delivery! Colin had a nice dinner in a small pub ad bought some basic food in the square. The dinner cost 1 silver and 30 coppers, and the food was 30 silver. It was enough for two weeks. He didn't waste time and went straight to bed, since he planned to get up early the next morning check out the books of Varieng's poetry before work, since he would be paying a social call in the afternoon.

Although it seemed things were still starting a bit slow, Colin felt a sense of security now that he had a job and a place to live. He could even leave things in his room when he went out without worrying about them getting stolen. That would save a lot of room in his small beginner's bag.

(To be continued...)


End file.
